Current fidgeted around, appearing just that as she told me why she was here, beer in hand shaking. So what if she was 15 and drank like the rest of us? She was way more mature than me at times.

“Well,” She began, then shook her head. “You know Shot Fire, from the Black?”

I nodded, taking a sip of beer as Kobra finished wrapping my left arm and moved to my right, which looked worse than any other appendage of mine. I winched at the cold alcohol as it touched my arm. “Yeah… Anything wrong with her?”

“Uhh, kinda,” Current said, taking a chug of beer. “She’s… Missing, and has been for a while now.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. “No, she can’t be… Who took her?” I asked, angry at the ass hole that had the balls to take Shot and not tell me about it, even in my state of mind.

Another chug of beer for Current. “Well… Dirt.”

I frowned at the mention of dirt. “What, is somebody living in the dirt and took Shot? Killer cacti? What is it, Current?” I asked, somewhat impatiently, the guys turning to look at me, noting my impatience.

Current finished her beer in one down before speaking again. “No, Rage… She’s ghosted.”

My world stopped as I heard the news. Shot Fire was the only maternal figure I had, and even though she had been in her late thirties, she was still older than me by enough to not be called my sister. Now she was dead.

“Saints protect her now,” I whispered as my beer bottle slipped from my hand to the floor, shattering and sending beer everywhere. Nobody moved except Kobra, who had started wrapping my right arm up in tight gauze. I sat back in the chair, shutting my eyes. The last time I saw Shot, she was drunk, and I had left her without a goodbye, telling her I’d be back. I didn’t, though. I couldn’t. I sighed and shut my eyes, thinking about the whole time I was in Battery City, Shot was dying or dead.

“Shot told me to tell you first, Rage,” Current said, walking over to me and sitting in the chair next to me, her body heat warming my left arm.

I nodded and opened my eyes, looking at the ceiling of the diner’s livable room. I sighed again. “I couldn’t even say goodbye…” I felt a tear slide down my cheek, and quickly brushed it off my skin, not wanting to hurt anymore than I already was.

Kobra patter my right arm, now covered in three layers of tight gauze. “Violet, try not to move it this time,” he said, standing up and cleaning the table off. I merely nodded and continued to stare at the ceiling, counting how many tiles were up there.

“Violet,” Party said, and moved over to me. “Shikata ga nai.”

I looked over at Party, no expression letting my emotions be read. “Party…” I said, my voice sounding sad, and Party pulled me into him, in a warm embrace. I bit my lip to keep from crying, making myself unintentionally draw blood.

The guys looked around awkwardly, probably not knowing what to do. Moonstruck shrugged and left the room, Ghoul and Jet following him like mice following the Pied Piper. Kobra bit his lip, following the guys out. Current stayed in the room, laying on the couch, probably mulling over how she told me the news.

I stood up out of the chair, climbing over Party’s thin arms. “I’m going on the roof,” I said quietly, walking outside into the cool desert air. I looked to my left and debated running from it all, to the center of the desert where even the best trackers couldn’t find me, but shook my head at the thought. Where’s there to go, Violet? I asked myself. You can’t run to Shot Fire. She’s gone.

I shook my head again and climbed up a ladder to my left on the diner’s wall. Twenty-seven rungs later, I was on the roof of the diner, staring at the night sky. It looked like somebody had taken a bucket of diamonds and strewn them across blact velvet. I half smiled at the sky, taking notice of the absence of the moon. Duh, Violet, I thought. BLI blew it up, remember? Years ago, and yet you still remember it like it was yesterday…

I sighed, missing the moon. “Come back, Moon,” I said softly, and started crying. I cried for the rape, Shot Fire, and the missing moon. Even though I had cried my eyes out back in Battery City earlier today, it seemed like buckets of water were pouring from my eyes in a steady stream.

I felt thin arms wrap around me, and I turned to bury my face in Party’s chest. Shot Fire was gone, and there was nothing I could do. The rape had happened, and there was nothing I could do. The moon was gone, and there was nothing I could do. Party rubbed my back as I cried, shushing me down to a soft whimper in the back of my throat.

I looked at Party with swollen eyes then looked away. Party kissed my forehead, and I buried my face deeper in Party’s shirt, my face burning from the tears in the cuts littering my face.

“Violet, hiding won’t work,” Party said, chuckling softly, and he lifted my face to his in a tender kiss. I didn’t turn away from Party as he kissed me, and I melted into the kiss.

Party flipped me over so I was on my back, him on top of me, kissing me feverishly. He ran his tongue over my swollen bottom lip, and I let him in, our tongues rolling in time with each other to silent music in our heads. I hungrily bit Party’s lip softly, causing him to groan and wrap his arms around me tighter, his member already feeling hard against my bruised thigh. I pushed that last thought out of my mind, just wanting to kiss Party and fall asleep in his arms.

Party kissed down my neck, making me shiver. His kisses were like little ghost hands on my skin, barely noticeable with my sleep-crazed senses. I yawned and pulled Party by his hair back up to my lips, kissing his with the last bits of my dwindling energy. I ran my tongue over his bottom lip, nibbling lightly.

Party yawned and I noticed he was just as tired as I was. “Party…” I mumbled as he began kissing me normally again.

Party sighed and stopped kissing me, still keeping his arms around me, warming me up. “Only because you said so,” he whispered in my ear as I shut my eyes, blocking out the feint light from the diamonds in the sky.

“I love you, Party,” I mewled, turning my head into Party’s chest, breathing in the permanent smell of coffee, cigarettes, and sweat, listening to his heart beat with mine.